You just made me realize classified government secrets are more reasonable and accessible than copyrighted works. The insanity of copyright never ceases to impress.
I like the 14 + 14 a lot better even though I think it is still too long.
> The Copyright Act of 1790 was the first federal copyright act to be instituted in the United States, though most of the states had passed various legislation securing copyrights in the years immediately following the Revolutionary War. The stated object of the act was the "encouragement of learning," and it achieved this by securing authors the "sole right and liberty of printing, reprinting, publishing and vending" the copies of their "maps, charts, and books" for a term of 14 years, with the right to renew for one additional 14-year term should the copyright holder still be alive.
Yes, that is much better. I still think that's way too much time but under that system everything I grew up with would already be public domain which is a fair outcome. These corporations have already made their fortunes several times over, there's absolutely no need for them to have a virtually perpetual monopoly on anything.
